Wagon-brake lever



m V EB TL m m RB M QM W m d 0 M 0 w Patented Oct. 25, 1892.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE P. RIESTER, OF SALEM, INDIANA.

WAGON-BRAKE LEVER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 485,060, dated October 25, 1892.

Application fil d March 18, 1892. Serial No. 425,466. (No model.)

To all whom it mag concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE P. RIESTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Salem, in the county of Washington and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lever Wagon-Brakes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Myinvention relates to lever wagon-brakes which are of that type wherein are employed an arc-shaped ratchet-bar andapivoted vibrating hand-lever carrying an auxiliary lever having a pawl at its lower end which engages at the will of the operator with any appropriate one of the ratchet-teeth of the arc, and thereby locks the wagon-brake.

My invention consists in a novel construction of such wagon-brakes, whereby the pawltoe of the auxiliary lever can be arranged as a laterally-projecting oifset to said lever, with its rear, or both front and rear, ends flush with the edges of the lever, and thus stand directly over the ratchet-toothed bar and at an inclination parallel with the bevel of the teeth, and whereby the said pawl-lever is connected at its lower end by a short link and at a considerable distance from said lower end by a relatively-longer link to the main hand-lever, and thus is free to gravitate and fall into an appropriate notch between the teeth of the arc, and also can be instantly withdrawn from said notch by grasping and forcing the two lovers together at their upper ends, as will be hereinafterdescribed and specifically claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation illustrating in full lines my improved lever'wagon-brake as in action and by dotted lines as out of action. Fig. 2 is a broken perspective view showing the brakelevers and ratchet-arc in the relation they occupy before being allowed to fall into action.

A represents a portion of awagon-body; B, a curved supporting-plate bolted to the body, and G a ratchet-arc bolted to the upper ends of the supporting-plate.

D is a main hand-lever pivoted to the center of the support-ing plate atctand guided on the are by means of an open lug b, which is formed on the lever and projects laterally from it, as shown. This lever extends up a considerable distance above the Wagon-body and terminates in a rounded handle 0. To this lever, between its pivot and lug, the brakeshoe bar E is pivotally connected.

F is an auxiliary hand-lever arranged entirely above the arc and connected by means of a short link G and a longer link H to the main hand-lever insuoh manner that its lower end lies very close to the front edge of the hand-lever, while from said lower end upward it diverges considerably from said edge of said hand-lever. The upper end of this auxiliary hand-lever terminates in a round handle 0 and stands about as high as the handle 0 of the main lever. At the lower end of the auxiliary lever a laterally-projecting bevel-surfaced toe-pawl ct is provided, the same being immediately beneath the short link and its front and rear edges flush with the front and rear edges of the auxiliary lever. This toepawl overhangs the ratchet-teeth of the arc and is inclined and shaped to glide into and out of said teeth and when in said teeth to snugly fit the same.

By constructing the toe-pawl as described and providing a lower and upper link of different lengths a very solid compact locking device is secured, and by having the pawl-la ver and pawl constructed on the same straight line and controlled by two links the locking can be efiected with unerring certainty when the hand-lever is grasped by the hand and the auxiliary lever allowed by its gravity to find a seat for its toe-pawl in the appropriate locking-tooth, the oonstructionbeingsuch that it is impossible for it to fail in finding a proper locking position. It is obvious by pressing the auxiliary lever from the position shown in full lines to the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1 the toe-pawl will be raised out of the ratchet-tooth, as more clearly shown in Fig. 2, and by releasing the grasp on the pawl-lever the weight of said lever and the controlling action of the two links will cause it to drop and engage freely and surely with the desired tooth in the are. In con structions where but a single link and crooked pawl toe are adopted there is liability, when the levers are grasped, of the pawl-toe not operating with that certainty that is required in such appliances.

While it is best to have the toe pawl as long as the width of the lever, the object desired; lower link G, all constructed and applied in without as great strength in the toepawl, connection with atoot-hed are 0, substantially might be accomplished byhaving the engagas and for the purpose described.

ing end of the pawl flush with only the rear In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my 5 edge of said lever. signature in presence of two witnesses.

What I claim is- The within-described wagon-brake lever, GEORGE P. RIESTER. comprising the main lever D and the auxil- Witnesses: iary lever F, having the sidewise-extended SAMUEL PADGETT, IO pawl-toe d and the upper link H and the GRANT ZINK. 

